Reinforced flexible conveyer strip



y 1953 c. N. BE-BINGER 2,646,867

REINFORCED FLEXIBLE comm STRIP Filed llay 1, 1951 Invniork fiarlas' 723% my;

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Patented July 28, 1953 signor to Joy Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation, of Pennsylvania Application 1, 1951, Serial No. 224,023

(cries-1), f

4 Claims.

My invention relates to flexible shaker convey-.-

ors, and more particularly to the flexible conveyor elements proper of such conveyors. Flexible shaker conveyorsshaker conveyors which utilize a longitudinally reciprocated single 5 this can be done in various ways-as, for examstrand, metallic strip, drawn many times a minple, by rolling the strip with thickened edges, by ute in one-the discharge-direction in a period sweating onto each edge a reinforcing strip, as which is materially greater than one-half of the with silver solder, or by spot welding'ja U-shaped duration of a complete reciprocatory cycle and, strip over either edge. With the reinforcement between each such movement and the next, drawn of the edges the provision of a corresponding in the opposite direction in a period which is thickening intermediate the edges and prefermaterially less than one-half of such durationably at the longitudinal central zone of the strip are a desirable arrangement for moving matebecomes desirable, in order that the strip may rial such as-but without limitation thereto-- wind well on a reel; and the strip may be rolled coal from one location to another. Such -conwith a central thickening, or may have a thickveyors employ as the material supporting and ening strip or strips, sweated or spot welded moving strips bands of steel strip on the order along its longitudinal central portion, depending of 30 inches to 42 inches wide, but it is to be on the nature of the edge reinforcement. A pluunderstcod that these dimensions, and any others rality of spaced intermediate thickenings, innot otherwise stated, are to be considered as stead of a single central one, may be. employed. illustrative, and not limiting. A desirable thick- In a. preferred embodiment the strip may have ness for the strips is on the order of a few hunits edges and a narrow width along its longitudredt s Of an inch. d a t ickness of .030 inch dinal center line rolled thicker than-perhaps as n f u d satisfactorily to meet quir twice as thick asthe thickness at' other points ments under many conditions. Thicknesses up to transversely of it, and these thickenings may .040" or .050" may be e p y f the material desirably be at one face of the strip-preferably to be conveyed, or the load or stresses on the belt at, th face of the strip which in use will conso dictate, and it is to be understood that these stitute its upper-material supporting-surface. figures are illustrative and not limiting. Such In the accompanying drawings, in which I Strips are pported and guided a d troughed y, have shown for purposes of illustration a pretroughing idlers, and accordingly need the fiexiferred embodiment which the invention may bility crosswise which they possess. They are. assume in practice:

made in units of considerable length, and their Fig. 1 is a plan view of a single strand conworking length varies as the point of material veyor strip in which the invention is incorporeception moves further away from the point of rated.

material delivery, and accordingly storage for the Fig. 2 is a transverse section, on an enlarged inactive portions of the strip is necessary. This scale, of the strip of Fig. 1, shown curved transis desirably accomplished by coiling the strip versely, as it would normally be at points remote on a reel and paying out strip as the need for from an associated reel, by the pressure of the increased working length arises; and oscillation load and the manner of support by the troughin of the reel on its own axis, bodily arcuate moveidlers' which support and guide it as it carries ment thereof, rectilinear reciprocation'thereof, and conveys a load.

and traction on the strip at a point between the Fig. 3 is a view on a different scale, partially reel and the so-called free end of the strip may, in elevation and partially broken away to show any of them, be utilized in the effecting of tracthe manner of strip storage, showing a reel with tion of the strip in one direction. There is, a strip of the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 accordingly, need for the longitudinal flexibility and 2 wound and stored upon it.

which characterizes a thin steel strip. In addi- Fig. 4 is a, transverse section through the reel tion, the strip changes its transverse conformaand strip of Fig. 3, taken upon the plane of the tion in use, being desirably wound flat on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

reel, but being troughed throughout most of its Referring to the drawings, and first to Figs. length, and as close up to the reel as possible. 1 and 2, there will be noted at H a single strand As is the case also with endless belts used for shaker conveyor strip. This may be of steelconveying purposes, the edges of the strip come chrome nickel stainless is satisfactory-of any in for maximum wear and stressing, and are, 56 convenient length. on the order or .030'inch thick because of the change in the transverse conformation of the strip subjected to particularly severe tensile stresses. It is therefore desirable to provide edge reinforcement for the strip, and

The strip has between the center reinforcement- [3 and each of the edge reinforcementsportions [6, Hi, desirably of substantially uniform thick-J The thicker reinforced portions .merge gradually, as at I5i. e. taper-into, theportions" The strip H is shown in Fig." 2' as up- HESS.

i4, i4. wardly concave, and as conforming toaportion of a surface of revolution at its lower side, as

such a curving would readily be imposedonthe strip by the coaction of the load with underlying arcuately arranged supporting id1ers,- and Will-permit the flattening of the strip as it is wound on a reel as shown in Fig. 3. It will be clear that the stripcould be conformed in use to other transverse shapes, as illustrated in my application, Serial No. 201,891, filed December 21, 1950, but it may be said in general that the avoidance of a definite line or lines of fiexure extending lengthwise of the strip will aid in the prolongation of life of the latter and permit smooth reeling thereof with smaller winding forces.

As earlier'notedit is desirable, as a practical proposition, that the portions of the strip not actively in use shall be reeled up, and Figs. 3 and 4 show a reel 2%], having a spool or drum portion 2i and end flanges or heads 22. The drum or spool portion 2i is cylindrical and the strip is shown wound with its flat (unthickened) side in, i. e. towards the axis of the reel. It will be noted that as the strip is wound,- the thickened portions !2, l3 and A2 of each Wrap engage thesmooth side of the next outer convolution, beneath the reinforcing thickenings of the same. enedstrip prevents any sagging of the central section of the strip and insures Winding and storage of the latter in such a manner that the paying offor winding in-of, say, one wrap will result in equal elongationor shorteningof the paid out portion of the strip by equal amounts at each edge and at its center.

Fig. 4 may be noted at the point indicated by the reference character 25, where the transition of the strip from a trough-like to a transversely straight coniormationor vice versa-is clearly seen.

By reason of this invention, a flexible strip for a flexible shaker conveyor is provided which will be materially more durable, be wound up and paid outeven after extended use-in a more desirable manner, and serve itspurposes without serious impediment to its effective use by reason of the changes in construction made to secure the advantages which it provides.

While there is in this. application specifically The provision of the central thick-- 4 described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of i1- lustration, and that the invention may be modifled and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

WhatI claim is:

1. A thin, flexible metallic conveyor strip of uniform width and having at its opposite edges, reinforcing the same, and midway between its edges, relatively narrow portions of greater thickness than the portions intermediate said thicker portions are at any-points therein, said relatively narrow portionsxhaving their overall thickness much lessthan their width and said strip, except at said relatively narrow portions of greater thickness, of'a'substantially uniform thinness.

2. A flexible metallic conveyor strip of uniform width and of uniform thickness throughout most of its width. and having at its opposite edges relatively narrow portions of increased thickness having their overall thickness much less than their width and said strip further having between said relatively narrow portions increased thickening of corresponding amount to preclude sagging of .the portion of the strip between saidrelatively narrow portions upon winding on a reel.

3. A flexible metallic conveyor strip of uniform width and of uniform thickness throughout most of its width and having at its opposite edges relatively narrow portions of increased thickness having their overall thickness much less than their width and said strip further "having between said relatively narrow portions increased.

thickening of corresponding amount and generally corresponding width to preclude sagging 0f the portion of the strip between said relatively narrow portions upon winding on a reel.-

4. A thin, flexible metallic conveyor strip of uniform width and of uniform thickness throughout most of its width and having at its opposite edges relatively narrow portions of increased thickness and further having between said relatively narrow edge portions at least one further relatively narrow portion of increased thickness to preclude sagging of the central portion of the strip upon winding on a reel, said strip other than at said edge portions and. at said'at least one relatively narrow portion of increased thickness being materially-thinner than said-portions and said thinner portions being much wider than the thicker onesand saidthioker ones much wider than their own overallthickness.

CHARLES N. BEBINGER.

References 'Cited'in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 820,234 Monell May 8, 1906 821,121 Plummer May 22, 1906- 1,484',248 Austin -l Feb. 19, 1924' FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 622,674 GreatBritain May 5, 1949 

